Spit science: why saliva is a great way to detect disease

By Genecy Calado de Melo, Lecturer in Operative and Primary Care Dentistry, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Cathy E. Richards, Lecturer of Biomedical Sciences in Dentistry, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

A few drops of saliva can now reveal what used to require a scalpel, a syringe or a scan.

Scientists have developed ways to analyse spit for the tiniest traces of illness – from mouth cancer to diabetes, and even brain diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Unlike blood tests or biopsies, saliva is easy to collect, painless and inexpensive. During the COVID pandemic, some countries used…

Read complete article

~	Quantum computers could crack the security codes used by satellites

~	Insect trafficking poses a risk to wildlife and human health

~	How William Howard Taft’s approach to government efficiency differed from Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn tactics

~	Can Trump strip Harvard of its charitable status? Scholars of nonprofit law and accounting describe the obstacles in his way

~	I watched the Kremlin’s new Putin documentary (so you don’t have to) − here’s what it says about how the Russian leader views himself

~	Nitrous oxide recreational use is linked to brain damage and sudden death − but ‘laughing gas’ is still sold all over the US

~	I’m a business professor who asked dozens of former students how they define success. Here are their lessons for today’s grads

~	Science requires ethical oversight – without federal dollars, society’s health and safety are at risk

~	To fend off Reform, mainstream parties must address the tangible decline of British towns

~	The 2024 Sir Paul Curran award for academic journalism goes to Paul Whiteley